The late afternoon shadows from the rim rock are quickly creeping over the alfalfa field, and the wheel line waits patiently for its call to duty in the spring. Our house against the rim rock is in the shadows by 1 PM in the winter time. We’ve had some beautifully sunny days lately…we pray for more snow.

Farming or the act of growing crops for food, must be one of the oldest professions there is. Mechanical technology sure has taken the chore to new dimensions over the years…from loose stacked hay cut with a sickle scythe and a wagon to today’s round and square bales that can weigh as much as 1800 lbs each with the help of tractors and balers. As a hay grower, I’m quite happy to see history evolve to make the work easier!

Springtime brings out the dreaded sage rats (Belding’s ground squirrels) which eat and destroy alfalfa plants. Before our alfalfa gets too tall, we drag the field to level the squirrel’s dirt mounds, but it’s an on-going struggle until they go back into hibernation in late July.

You can see the mounds by the tractor’s wheels that the drag will flatten. The drag also knocks down the old dry alfalfa stalks from last year. It’s amazing how quickly the alfalfa has started to green in the past two weeks. But, if we don’t get any rain in the near future, we’ll be forced to begin irrigation (blah!).